Schumacher - title race is over
Michael Schumacher conceded defeat in his quest for an eighth Formula One drivers’ crown after his retirement from the Japanese Grand Prix handed Fernando Alonso a 10-point lead in the standings with just one race to go.
Alonso requires just one point at the Brazilian Grand Prix in two weeks’ time to successfully defend his world title while Schumacher would need to win at Interlagos and see the Spaniard fail to finish in the top eight to claim an unlikely victory.
“The drivers’ championship is over because I don’t want to go to Brazil hoping someone else retires, that’s not the way I want to win a championship,” he said.
“We all know Fernando only needs one point and we all know what a good driver he is, so that should be no problem for him.
“I don’t think it’s a nice thing to hope for a retirement. We are going to Brazil now and we will give all we can, but more towards the constructors’ championship and then we will see what comes out of this.”
Schumacher led the race with 17 laps to go and looked to be on track for a sixth win in eight races and a victory that would have strengthened his position at the top of the drivers’ standings.
But after pulling out of the pits for a routine tyre change and refuelling stop, smoke started to pour from the back of the Ferrari, forcing Schumacher to pull off the track as Alonso roared past.
With Schumacher retiring due to engine failure for the first time since the 2000 French Grand Prix and team mate Felipe Massa well adrift in second, Alonso cruised home for his first win since the Canadian Grand Prix in June.
“There was no engine any more and everything was clouded in smoke,” said Schumacher of the moment his championship hopes all but disappeared. “You know it’s a retirement, you lose 10 points and you know exactly what has happened.
“For me it was clear from the very first moment that the championship was decided by this.”
Until the retirement, all had been going as scheduled for the Ferraris, with Schumacher taking the lead at the start of the third lap from Massa after the Brazilian, who had qualified in pole position, conceded first place to his team mate.
And while Alonso was the pushing hard, Schumacher was able to match his pace until disaster struck.
“The race went very much according to plan,” he said. “We were quick at the moments when we wanted to be quick and I think the result would have gone well if we hadn’t had the engine failure.”
The seven-time world champion refused to be too downhearted by his failure to clinch a final individual title before heading into retirement at the end of the season.
“I know that there’s no possibility left,” he said. “I have tried everything I could this year and all of us together tried everything but in the end it didn’t work out and that’s it.
“I think we can be proud of what we have achieved together and if it is not our year we cannot change that.”
